Introducing Jim Patten

Introducing Jim Patten: Current executive editor of Jaguar World*

*This is a re-post of an article from Xclusively Jaguar printed magazine - November 2020

If there was a time in my life when I wasn’t interested in Jaguar, I can’t remember it. I would work my way through countless old magazines reading road tests of the original E-type and XK, wishing that I had a time machine to take me back to Le Mans and just fantasise about any or all of these cars.

Brought up in a non-motoring family, I had no idea where this passion had come from. My father didn’t even drive. It wasn’t until after his death that we learnt that he had been brought up under a strict discipline in Ireland, where life was centred around my grandfather’s racing garage. A colourful character outside of the family, grandfather, H.A. Patten (known as Happy in racing circles) knew all the big names of the day, like Witney Straight, and was quite a dab hand at racing himself. Dad was an athlete and played rugger, making the national team for school boys on a few occasions. Back in the day, this was frowned upon by his tyrant father; he should have been at the race track. My uncle raced at Phoenix Park and Dundrod. As for dad, as soon as he graduated, he boarded the ferry to England never to return. I never met his side of the family. Dad eventually decided to take up driving and passed his driving test at the age of 65.

Meanwhile I was straining at the leash to get behind the wheel, collecting various car parts to be nailed to my soap-box cart. I started to ride motorbikes at 16, and there has rarely been a year when I have been without a bike. At 17, test dispensed with, I went through a couple of Fords and somehow, bought a frighteningly quick Triumph TR3A that had been raced. I didn’t know it at the time of course, I just rejoiced in the speed, learning how to drive sideways, the direction this car mostly travelled on its ageing Pirelli Cinturatos. The truth came out years later when a visitor spotted a picture of the car on my wall and declared that he had raced it with some success, before taking all the obvious tuning bits off (Webbers, sticky tyres etc) and selling it to a ‘spotty kid’ (his words). I was that kid. Then I found a Jaguar. A 3.4 Mk 2 on wire wheels, with a Webasto sunroof, registered I think, 34 JBF. I was off on the Jaguar trail. Still in my teens I had my first of many XK 120s, NAU 660 (latterly raced by Darren McWhirter). Even when I had to get my head down at academia, I chose Jaguar as my thesis. It wasn’t on the list of accepted subjects, and I was instructed to write an essay to justify its inclusion and was reluctantly given the go-ahead. Forever skint, I would use a battered Mini most days, bringing out the XK when part time jobs earnt petrol money. Once the trial of education was over, I pulled the XK apart for a later restoration, and bought my first E-type, a 3.8 fixed head coupe registered 9600 WK. How I wished I had at least kept that registration number. Paul Webb now has the car, converted to a Modsport racer.

I’d met Paul Webb through his business partner and XK enthusiast, David Bartropp. Dave sadly died on February 16th, 1973 driving an Escort at Monza, while attempting a closed speed record for Ford. The JDC initiated the Dave Bartropp Trophy for XKs, but the trophy seems to have gone missing over the years. It would be wonderful to find out where the trophy is and perhaps reintroduce the award for XK racers. Through Paul, I met many fascinating people, including Roy Salvadori. It seems that everything I have done involved Jaguar somewhere. My first house in Hornchurch was bought from Derek Lake, spares coordinator of the SS Register. I’d gone there to buy some cheap XK parts, and when I asked Derek what else he had for sale, he spread his arms and said; “There’s the house.” With the garage housing a Ford Pilot Woody, a Mk IX and XK 120, plus another garage at the side with an MGTC, I knew that it was way beyond my reach. Derek though, had the occasional pint with the manager of the building society where I kept my meagre funds. Everything was arranged over a beer and I had bought a house that would become the centre of the Essex Area of the JDC. I’d become area representative after failing to step back quickly enough and was the last man standing. Rebuilds, race cars and conversions were all done in that garage. Incidentally, we held our monthly JDC meetings at the Green Man in Navestock; our host being one Ken Baker, successful racer of a 1961 E-type, 7 CXW (now owned by Paul Webb).

Jaguars were coming through my hands at a prodigious rate. Realising that I hadn’t the funds to be successful at racing, I turned to my great love of travelling (I drove to Spain aged 18 in an old Ford), and if it was in a Jaguar, then all the better. I loved them all, be it the 2+2 E-type that I toured Europe in many times, or the Mk X that came free with the house. It had a tow hook and was perfect to tow a trailer to collect the various cars I’d been offered. There were so many cars that it all became a blur. Many were just for parts, and I reckon that I learnt more about Jaguars by taking them apart than I ever did in a book. I even managed to put all but the terminally corroded back together again. During the Hornchurch days, Paul Skilleter moved into the area, and with my name in the Jaguar Driver, he gave me a call. We’ve been firm friends ever since. I’d been writing features, with I think, my first in the Automobile magazine in 1985, and flirted with Practical Classics. In 1988, Paul started Jaguar Quarterly and reckoned it was time that I gave up the day job and joined him for some serious work as I did officially a year later and have been there ever since; now as executive editor.

I’ve been lucky enough to drive just about everything, from Austin 7 Swallow, through SS 90 and 100, to C- and D-types, the Jaguar powered cars, likeLister and Cooper.

There isn’t the scope to tell the fascinating story of how the magazine evolved into Jaguar World. But we were there when Jaguar officially re-joined racing in the modern era, the TWR XJS and Group C cars, the Le Mans wins, as well as greeting every new model since. But my comfort zone has always been with the classics and I’ve been lucky enough to drive just about everything, from Austin 7 Swallow, through SS 90 and 100, to C- and D-types, the Jaguar powered cars, like Lister and Cooper. I made it a point to feature an E-type in every single issue of JW. We also ran a series of restoration project cars (usually my own), where we told the story warts and all. Never frightened to go into the difficulties of fitting rogue parts, the series could be brutally honest. In 1998, I spoke to Graham Searle at the JEC about putting on an event to celebrate 50-years of the XK engine, and between us (and so many unsung heroes), XK50 became one of the most celebrated Jaguar events. I arranged the racing in which every race was sponsored and cars were by invitation only. Graham with the JEC backing, sorted out the show. XK racing had been in the doldrums for years, but after XK50, the JEC accepted the challenge and slowly brought Jaguar club racing back to the circuits.

There are just two Jaguars in the Patten motor home today; one a deliciously original Series 1 4.2 E-type open two-seater, rare in that for a right-hand drive car, it still has its original floor pans and panels. It is one of the best driving E-types out there and still looks fantastic, despite the 50,000-miles in our hands (mainly around Europe). The other E-type was manufactured just a month after the open car. A rust-free fixed head example found by my chum Steve Gordon in California, but with a Ford V8 engine. Now, that has had every mod we could throw at it. New 4.2-litre XK engine (not a rebuild), fuel injection, ECU, five-speed gearbox and air-conditioning being just the tip of the many modern upgrades. Quite how many Jaguars I have owned since that first Mk 2 is in excess of 100 (when I stopped counting). I think though, that I might have finally found contentment with my cars.

Story taken from Xclusively Jaguar Magazine - November 2020 issue.

Read the full issue here.